<p><strong>Background: </strong>Research today highlights the importance of values alignment, but all of the research has been conducted on manufacturing companies. We found it interesting to investigate if the same theories are applicable to the knowledge-intense service sector, such as consultancy firms. Furthermore, research has identified a set of key attributes of successful teamwork, which we find closely related to values alignment. Despite this, we found no previous research within this area.</p><p><strong>Purpose:</strong> This study investigates the connections between values alignment and teamwork at a consultancy firm.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> Our research was conducted as a case study at the department of Management at a consultancy firm. A survey, based on Barrett’s (2008) Seven Level Consciousness, and Cultural Values Assessment models, was carried out. However, we have modified the model to fit Swedish work-related values. We conducted pre-survey, and follow-up survey interviews with employees at the consultancy firm, as well as an interview with a former employee. This triangulation of information gathering techniques allowed us to ensure the validity of our study.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> We found a set of four clear relations between values alignment and, what previous research has identified as, key success factors of successful teamwork. Commitment, guidance in decision making, quality of outcome and reduced interpersonal conflicts are all outcomes of values alignment, and they are in different ways connected to one or several of <em>commitment to success and shared goals, commitment to team processes and accountability, interpersonal skills, open communication and feedback or <em>interdependencies. </em></em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> / <p><strong>Bakgrund</strong><strong>:</strong> Dagens forskning belyser vikten av att ha en gemensam värdegrund, men så vitt vi kan se sträcker sig forskningen till att enbart involvera tillverkningsföretag. Vi tyckte att bristen på forskning inom kunskapsintensiva serviceföretag, så som konsultföretag, var intrigerande och bestämde oss för att undersöka huruvida befintliga teorier är applicerbara även på den här sektorn. Forskning har även identifierat ett antal faktorer som kännetecknar framgångsrikt teamwork, vi anser att dessa faktorer är kopplade till att ha en gemensam värdegrund. Trots detta har vi inte hittat någon tidigare forskning inom det här området.</p><p><strong>Syfte</strong><strong>:</strong> Den här uppsatsen undersöker sambandet mellan att ha en gemensam värdegrund och teamwork på ett konsultföretag.</p><p><strong>Metod:</strong> Den här undersökningen är genomförd som en fall studie på Mana-gementavdelningen på ett konsultföretag. Vi sände ut en enkät till de anställda, som byggde på Barretts (2008) Seven Level Consciousness och Cultural Values Assessment modeller. Vi har dock anpassat enkäten till att stämma överens med svenska arbetsrelaterade värderingar. Förutom detta genomförde vi intervjuer innan enkäten skickades ut, samt uppföljningsintervjuer. Utöver de intervjuerna, gjorde vi även en intervju med en före detta anställd på företaget. Den här trianguleringen gjorde det möjligt för oss att försäkra validiteten för vår undersökning.</p><p><strong>Slutsats:</strong> Vi fann fyra tydliga kopplingar mellan fördelarna med att ha gemensam värdegrund, och vad som genom tidigare forskning har identifierats som framgångsfaktorer för teamwork. Engagemang, stöd för beslutsfattande, kvalitet samt en minskning av sociala konflikter är alla effekter av att ha en gemensam värdegrund. Dessa är på olika sätt relaterade till en eller flera av följande; <em>engagemang i framgång och delade mål, engagemang till team processer och ansvarsskyl-dighet, social kompetens, öppen kommunikation och feedback eller <em>ömsesidigt beroende. </em></em></p><p> </p>

Les marchés financiers ont connu, grâce aux études réalisées durant les trois dernières décennies, une expansion considérable et ont vu l'apparition de produits dérivés divers et variés. Parmi les plus répandus, on retrouve les options américaines. Une option américaine est par définition une option qu'on a le droit d'exercer avant l'échéance convenue T. Les plus basiques sont le Put ou le Call américain (respectivement option de vente (K - x)+ ou d'achat (x - K)+). La première partie, et la plus conséquente, de cette thèse est consacrée à l'étude des options américaines dans des modèles exponentiels de Lévy. On commence dans un cadre multidimensionnel caractérise le prix d'une option américaine, dont le Pay-off appartient à une classe de fonctions non forcément bornées, à l'aide d'une inéquation variationnelle au sens des distributions. On étudie, ensuite, les propriétés générales de la région d'exercice ainsi que de la frontière libre. On affine encore ces résultats en étudiant, en particulier, la région d'exercice d'un Call américain sur un panier d'actifs, où on caractérise en particulier la région d'exercice limite (à l'échéance). Dans un deuxième temps, on se place dans un cadre unidimensionnel et on étudie le comportement du prix critique (fonction délimitant la région d'exercice) d'un Put américain près de l'échéance. Particulièrement, on considère le cas où le prix ne converge pas vers le strike K, dans un modèle Jump-diffusion puis dans un modèle où le processus de Lévy est à saut pur avec un comportement proche de celui d'un &-stable. La deuxième partie porte sur l'approximation numérique de la Credit Valuation Adjustment (CVA). On y présente une méthode basée sur le calcul de Malliavin inspirées de celles utilisées pour les options américaines. Une étude de la complexité de cette méthode y est aussi présentée et comparée aux méthodes purement Monte Carlo et aux méthodes fondées sur la régression.

Public-Private-Partnership (P3) is gaining momentum as the delivery method for the development of public infrastructure. These projects, however, are exposed to economic risks. If the private parties are not comfortable with the level of the risks, they would not participate in the project and, as a result, the infrastructure will most likely not be realized. As an incentive for participation in the P3 project, private parties are sometimes offered guarantees against unfavorable economic risks. Therefore, the valuation of these guarantees is essential for deciding whether or not to participate in the project. While previous works focused on the valuation of guarantees, the incorporation of credit risk in the value of the P3 projects and the guarantees has been neglected. The effect of credit risk can be taken into account by using the rigorous Credit Value Adjustment method (CVA). CVA is a computationally demanding method that the valuation methods currently in the literature are not capable of handling. This research offers a novel approach for the valuation of guarantees and P3 projects which is computationally superior to the existing methods. Because of this computational efficiency, CVA can be implemented to account for credit risk. For the development of this method, a continuous stochastic differential equation (SDE) is derived from the forecasted curve of an economic risk. Using the SDE, the partial differential equation (PDE) governing the value of the guarantees will be derived. Then, the PDE will be solved using Finite Difference Method (FDM). A new feature for this method is that it obtains exercise strategies for the Australian guarantees. The present work extends the literature by providing a valuation method for the cases that multiple risks affect P3 projects. It also presents an approach for the valuation of the Asian style guarantee, a contract which reimburses the private party based on the average of risk factor. Finally, a hypothetical case study illustrates the implementation of the FDM-based valuation method and CVA to obtain the value of the P3 project and the guarantees adjusted for the counterparty credit risk.

Public-Private-Partnership (P3) is gaining momentum as the delivery method for the development of public infrastructure. These projects, however, are exposed to economic risks. If the private parties are not comfortable with the level of the risks, they would not participate in the project and, as a result, the infrastructure will most likely not be realized. As an incentive for participation in the P3 project, private parties are sometimes offered guarantees against unfavorable economic risks. Therefore, the valuation of these guarantees is essential for deciding whether or not to participate in the project. While previous works focused on the valuation of guarantees, the incorporation of credit risk in the value of the P3 projects and the guarantees has been neglected. The effect of credit risk can be taken into account by using the rigorous Credit Value Adjustment method (CVA). CVA is a computationally demanding method that the valuation methods currently in the literature are not capable of handling. This research offers a novel approach for the valuation of guarantees and P3 projects which is computationally superior to the existing methods. Because of this computational efficiency, CVA can be implemented to account for credit risk. For the development of this method, a continuous stochastic differential equation (SDE) is derived from the forecasted curve of an economic risk. Using the SDE, the partial differential equation (PDE) governing the value of the guarantees will be derived. Then, the PDE will be solved using Finite Difference Method (FDM). A new feature for this method is that it obtains exercise strategies for the Australian guarantees. The present work extends the literature by providing a valuation method for the cases that multiple risks affect P3 projects. It also presents an approach for the valuation of the Asian style guarantee, a contract which reimburses the private party based on the average of risk factor. Finally, a hypothetical case study illustrates the implementation of the FDM-based valuation method and CVA to obtain the value of the P3 project and the guarantees adjusted for the counterparty credit risk.

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:19:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 163075.pdf: 1186225 bytes, checksum: d22613f1a39afae43d6d6d4d7b7eeb0b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-03-29T00:00:00Z / Este estudo teve objetivou, por meio da análise de casos práticos e reais, apurar os retornos gerados por alguns 'novos serviços' (serviços de tráfego de dados segundo a classificação criada por Steuernagel) lançados por uma operadora de telefonia celular operante no Brasil e com isto avaliar a contribuição que estes trouxeram para a criação de valor aos acionistas desta operadora.

In this master thesis, we compare three different types of funding alternatives from a Swedish municipality's point of view, with the main focus on analysing a Nikkei-linked loan. We do this by analysing the resulting interest rate and the expected exposures, taking collateral into consideration. We conclude, with certainty, that there are many alternatives for funding and that they each need to be analysed and compared on many levels to be able to make a correct decision as to which ones to choose. An important part of this is to consider the implications of the newest regulations and risk exposure, as it might greatly influence the final price for contracts. Between the cases that we considered, the SEK bond was the one with the lowest resulting spread, and the one which is the simplest considering the collateral involved. While other alternatives might be better depending on how profitable it is for the municipality to receive collateral, the SEK bond is the most transparent one and with least risk involved.

Submitted by Giovanni Lucheses (giovannirl@fgv.br) on 2012-07-16T15:39:17Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Vfinal.pdf: 523797 bytes, checksum: 51c0f0c8eb514cda94eda8cafb770be5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2012-07-16T17:55:25Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Vfinal.pdf: 523797 bytes, checksum: 51c0f0c8eb514cda94eda8cafb770be5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2012-07-23T18:28:14Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Vfinal.pdf: 523797 bytes, checksum: 51c0f0c8eb514cda94eda8cafb770be5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-07-23T18:28:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Vfinal.pdf: 523797 bytes, checksum: 51c0f0c8eb514cda94eda8cafb770be5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-12-05 / O presente estudo de caso investiga a possibilidade de utilização de métricas de gestão de valor na análise econômica de projetos de investimento e, por consequência, objetiva auxiliar no processo de tomada de decisões acerca de investimentos. Para tal, o arcabouço teórico fundamenta-se na teoria de gestão baseada em valor e análises tradicionais de avaliação de projetos de investimentos. O objetivo é verificar a aderência entre as ferramentas tradicionais (VPL – valor presente líquido) e as novas, baseadas em valor (EVA – valor econômico agregado, CVA - valor adicionado base caixa), amplamente utilizadas para medir o desempenho empresarial. / This case study investigates the possibility of using value management metrics in economic analysis of investment projects and, therefore, aims to assist investment decision making. To this end, the theoretical framework is based on value based management theory and traditional assessment analysis of investment projects. The goal is to check the adhesion between the traditional tools (NPV – net present value) and the new ones, which are value-based (EVA - economic value added, CVA – cash value added) and widely used to measure business performance.

Submitted by Eitan Chernizon (eitan.chernizon@sgcib.com) on 2013-02-15T17:46:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MODELAGEM DA DEPENDÊNCIA ENTRE FATORES DE CRÉDITO E MERCADO.pdf: 1474762 bytes, checksum: 19b13b065762c89e556619042eaf016d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia (suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2013-02-18T12:58:52Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 MODELAGEM DA DEPENDÊNCIA ENTRE FATORES DE CRÉDITO E MERCADO.pdf: 1474762 bytes, checksum: 19b13b065762c89e556619042eaf016d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-02-18T13:20:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MODELAGEM DA DEPENDÊNCIA ENTRE FATORES DE CRÉDITO E MERCADO.pdf: 1474762 bytes, checksum: 19b13b065762c89e556619042eaf016d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-01 / Apesar das recentes turbulências nos mercados, a utilização de derivativos negociados fora de uma câmara de compensação tem apresentado rápido crescimento, constituindo um dos maiores componentes do mercado financeiro global. A correta inclusão da estrutura de dependência entre fatores de crédito e mercado é de suma importância no apreçamento do risco de crédito adjacente a exposições geradas por derivativos. Este é o apreçamento, envolvendo simulações de Monte Carlo, feito por uma instituição negociante para determinar a redução no valor do seu portfólio de derivativos devido a possibilidade de falência da contraparte. Este trabalho apresenta um modelo com abordagem paramétrica para lidar com a estrutura de dependência, intuitivo e de fácil implementação. Ao mesmo tempo, os números são contrastados com os resultados obtidos através de uma abordagem neutra ao risco para um portfólio replicante, sob o mesmo processo estocástico. O modelo é aplicado sobre um contrato a termo de câmbio, e diferentes cópulas e fatores de correlação são utilizados no processo estocástico. / Despite recent turmoils, the use of derivatives traded outside of a clearinghouse has shown rapid growth and is a major component of the global financial market. The correct inclusion of the dependence structure between market and credit factors is of high importance in the pricing of credit risk exposures generated by the adjacent derivatives. This pricing, involving Monte Carlo simulations, is done by a dealer to determine the reduction in the value of its derivatives portfolio because of the bankruptcy of the counterparty. This paper presents a model with parametric approach to deal with the dependence structure, intuitive and easily implemented. Meanwhile, the numbers are contrasted with results obtained using a risk neutral approach for a replicating portfolio under the same stochastic process. The model is applied on a forward exchange contract, and different copulas and correlation factors are used in the stochastic process.

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of significant physical, cognitive, and psychiatric morbidity. One risk factor for stroke is paradoxical embolization through a patent foramen ovale (PFO). In cardiac clinical practice, power M-mode Transcranial Doppler (TCD) evaluation is the gold standard for diagnosis of PFO, or right-to-left cardiac shunt (RLS). Brain micro-embolization due to diagnostic bubble contrast echocardiography may cause neurological symptoms in patients with PFO. However, the neurocognitive effects of TCD have not been studied. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate cognitive outcomes in patients who undergo routine diagnostic bubble contrast TCD. The aims of the study were (1) to determine if cognitive function declines pre- to post-TCD evaluation and, (2) to assess the relationship between cognitive function and severity of the RLS measured using the Spencer Grading System. Methods: One hundred and four participants referred to Sorensen Cardiovascular Group for diagnosis of RLS were evaluated for changes in cognitive functioning at three time points. A dual baseline (pre-test and baseline test) was administered to mitigate practice effects between the first and second administrations. All pre and post-TCD comparisons were analyzed using the baseline test and post-TCD test, controlling for the effects of practice, if present. Results: Practice effects were observed for the working memory task, with significant improvement in working memory scores occurring between the first (pre-test) and second (baseline) administrations. The main effect for shunt group (no shunt vs. moderate-to-severe shunt) and the shunt group by time interactions were not significant for processing speed, attention, or working memory, adjusting for practice effects, age, and education. Migraine did not predict group status for mood or shunt variables. Conclusion: Cardiac patients with both small and large RLS did not experience a decline in processing speed, attention, or working memory ability following TCD, suggesting that TCD-induced microemboli do not result in immediate cognitive deficits in these domains. These findings support the use of TCD for routine evaluation of PFO, even in patients with severe RLS, although findings are limited to young (30s), medically healthy, predominately Caucasian individuals assessed immediately following TCD. Results do not exclude the possibility of cognitive impairment at follow-up, on other cognitive tests, or in other cognitive domains.

Cash assistance has emerged as a vital tool for supporting household recovery in Nepal after multiple disasters, including the 2015 earthquake, 2018 drought, and COVID-19 pandemic. This research engages with organizational learning theory to explore how cash programs evolved overtime and identify the challenges and opportunities encountered in program implementation. Using semi-structured interviews, I recorded the experiences of individuals from NGOs, INGOs, and donor agencies involved in managing these programs in Nepal. While initial skepticism from the government, limited resources, and beneficiaries' lack of access to financial institutions presented obstacles, cash programs empowered individuals to meet their needs and revitalized local economies. The research identifies that technological integration, use of market analysis, and collaboration with financial institutions as evidence of learning from past programs to inform new programs; however, government resistance remained a barrier. Interview participants emphasized the importance of collaboration, innovation, and adaptation to improve future cash programs and, build a more resilient Nepal that is better prepared for future disasters.